headlamp light confessional

What kind of mean old mommy insists on at least 3 bites of yummy vegetables? This kind.

What kind of mommy makes homemade BBQ sauce so that her baby can enjoy it by the spoonful? This kind.

This mean mommy also tried potty training this week. This is a very tired mommy.

How many ways can you use a bucket? Just ask Nadia

Where else but a third world country would a girl need to bake by head lamp and candle light? I call this, "Headlamp Coffee Cake." Thank you Kara Shaylor for this sour cream (plain homemade yogurt) coffee cake recipe. Thank you Tim and Michelle for the awesome headlamp. Thank you Heather for having a beautiful little baby boy to celebrate with coffee cake! (PS: That aluminum box next to me, sitting on top of the stove is my oven).

more terbiasa

A few more things here that I thought we'd take much longer to get used to. Somehow it's begun to happen in spite of ourselves.

These pretty ladies both work as helpers/servants in our neighbors' homes. I never thought it would be normal to me that it's normal here to have 'maids'. But I've gotten to know these two ladies, and now I see. They love their jobs, and are so grateful to have work. The lady on the lower step is our closest neighbor. Nadia calls her "Nenek", which is "Grandma." She's 53 years old and still works full-time. Meaning, she gets up at 4:30am to chop firewood, heat up water for cooking, clean her house, cook breakfast for her husband (who is a little bit nuts, but we love him). She goes to her job up the road at 9am, where she cleans up after the family there and then cooks their lunch. She then comes home and cooks her own lunch (i love to surprise her with food from our kitchen to save her another hour of cooking... sometimes i wonder if i'm really doing her any favors). Sometimes she goes back to work after lunch. Other days, she takes a nap, or plays (loudly) on our front porch with the neighborhood kids (including Nadia) until sundown.

I am, by no means, used to these stupid things. But at least I don't jump a foot off the ground and scream my head off every time i see one. These little geckos live ((AND POOP)) all over our house. I hate them with a passion. There is no way to get rid of them. It's just one of those things we have to allow for and try to adapt to. Yuck.

Watching my baby grow into a little girl. When did that happen?

sudah terbiasa

As i looked around the other day, it occurred to me that there are so many things that we've gotten used to that were so foreign when we first got here. I never took photos of them when we were settling in, and now it seems silly to be taking photos of these things. Here are just a few things that are a part of our every day lives here. We see and use these things without even thinking about it. That's what makes us "sudah terbiasa" - already used to it.

I love this photo for all the things packed into it:

1. The overloaded truck with daily necessities to be delivered all over town.

2. The fact that it's no big deal to us now that we have our drinking water delivered to our house, and we don't EVER think of drinking the water out of the tap. Nadia has no idea that people even do that on this earth. No drinking from the garden hose here.

3. The fact the LPG tanks are so nonchalantly hefted all over the place - I wonder sometimes if they've forgotten here that those things can do some serious damage if mistreated.

4. Though it's not really clear here, behind the truck are some glass, 1 liter bottles full of gasoline. That's how we fill up.

5. This building is not only a store, rather, it's someone's home. They've simply turned their living room into a mini-mart.

This little store is located about 3 minute's walk away from our house. We either go there or talk to the owners at least once a day. This is where we buy all of our eggs, rice, drinking water, LPG and gasoline. This is a much better photo of those 1 liter bottles mentioned above.

I never thought I'd say this, but: I LOVE THE TAMBAL BAN GUYS! This little shack is someone's home as well. Except this guy has turned his living room into a tire repair (Tambal Ban) shop. If you can limp your motorbike to one of these guys on the side of the road, they will repair or change your flat tire for $.50 (fifty cents). Not only are they quick at what they do, they are usually super friendly. Most of the shops have a little stool under some shade for their customers. Since we started driving (last August), we've had 5 flat tires. We love these guys! (and i think they love us back)

Our local "Home Depot". Freshly felled local wood and bamboo can be bought here. The only problem we've not quite figured out is how to get a nice big piece home. They'd just hang onto it with one hand as they drive their motorbike back home. No big deal?

We just call our local shop (see above) and order an LPG refill, and a guy drives it to our house. No problem.... for us. These guys make me a little bit nervous. I never like driving behind one of these delivery boys. Not only are their bikes often overloaded, the drivers are often barely 12 years old.

Why did the chicken cross the road? I never understood how that ever morphed into a joke... until i started driving in Indonesia. Chickens are the most indecisive animals on the planet. "I'm going left! No, right! No, wait... where am i going?! Left? Right!! Wait!!"

When you run over a chicken here, it is customary to just keep driving. I made a point to search that out before my second week on the road as a driver was up. Cats, on the other hand - you should stop and bury. Good to know.

Driving a motorbike... on the left hand side of the road. That is something we thought we'd never get used to. Turns out, it's not so bad. We are even starting to like it.

No carseats... no...seats. Just a couple helmets and a Nadia sandwich.

Tuesday

After school and studying and afternoon naptime on Tuesday afternoon, we head to a local park where Phil plays on a local soccer team (sepak bola) and Nadia and I play at the playground (and in the dirt).

Lacing up

Nadia loves shouting her "support" - mostly she just loves screaming in the outdoor air.

Teams come from all around, and Phil and some of his friends try to show up for the home games here in town.

High Chairs are for Sissies

Our big 20 month old baby sits at the table like a big girl. She loves it. No booster seat or anything - just a couch pillow wrapped in a rain coat. :0)

Sunday night is Pancake Night at our house.

My favorite Pancake recipe:

2 cups flour

1/2 cup cornmeal (when available)

1/4 cup sugar

2 Tblsp Baking Powder

1 Tsp Baking Soda

1 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Vanilla

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups buttermilk (1 1/2 cups milk and 1 Tblsp vinegar)

1/4 cup butter, melted

I'm sure you know the rest. :0)

just another day

Nothing big or exciting going on this week. Just more of the same: language learning, watching our baby grow, becoming more of who we are supposed to be... Sometimes tiring stuff.

Nadia was playing quietly in her room... a little too quietly.

Eating Stroopwafel at the International School Basketball Tournament. Yummy, melty chocolate goodness.

A whopper of a hopper landed on our window sill the other night and made the loudest noise i've ever heard a bug make. If i had not seen him with my own eyes, i would have continued to think that a machine was on the fritz.